Islanders in the Snow

Our family going sledding

We are Americans. For the past week, we have been back home in the US. But it has been exactly three years since we last left the States. Our kids barely even remember the US. Our youngest was only in the States once as a 6 month old. So it is safe to say that we feel a little out of touch.

The songs on the radio aren’t very familiar. Many of the celebrities in the news are unknown to us. And it keeps going, whether it is music, politics, fashion or TV shows, we feel the disconnect of our years abroad. I guess in some ways, we've become islanders.

Still the kids were very excited to be coming back to the States, especially because it meant that they could experience WINTER again! For weeks on the islands, they talked excitedly to one another about snow. And even though only our oldest had conceivable memories of snow, all three of them talked about how much they loved it!

But our first day back in the States it was in the 50’s and we were all freezing. Apparently our internal thermostats had adjusted to the islands, and even the 50’s felt plenty wintry. We wondered whether the kids would actually do okay in the snow or if the weather would ever cool down enough for snow. Still the kids were excited for snow.

We tried to calm their excitement. “There might not be any snow!” So they prayed for snow. Then we thought of all our family members coming and going (including ourselves) and told them we needed to pray that there weren’t any storms while people traveled.

Building a snowman

Sure enough, the day after our family from California arrived, it snowed—multiple inches of perfect snowball/snowman making snow.  Later that day we drove over to the sledding hill and the kids sled until their toes were cold and their noses were red and we all came home for hot cocoa.  Then a few days later we got light and fluffy snow, perfect for snow angels.  Thanks to a storm that caused poor driving conditions, we even had a day where we cancelled all our plans and stayed at home and watched movies!

Not sure that we are fully acclimatized to a New England winter, we’re still wimpy islanders in some ways, but it is amazing how much more comfortable we are after a week and it’s safe to say that we have gotten a full snow experience.  Now if the snow would stay away for the wedding and our travels back to the islands, that would be really wonderful.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We’ve adjusted to the US time zone and weather. Megan’s parents and brothers made it safely to the East Coast to see us and then back to the west coast. The kids’ prayers for snowmen, snowballs and sledding were all answered! Our teammates have started arriving back on the islands. One of our teammates had malaria but thankfully had the necessary medication so she could still enjoy her vacation.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
The wedding is on Saturday and then we leave Sunday. Pray that we get the final errands done so we can enjoy the wedding festivities and all the extended family that are traveling in for the occasion. Pray for a wonderful wedding and new marriage for Tom’s sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law.  Pray for all our team and us as we travel back to the islands. We are going to do the four flights back to our island back to back, with no long layovers. Pray for all the connections and pray for our kids (this will be pushing their travel endurance). Our team is trying to make arrangements for our final debrief in April- pray that all the logistics come together. Pray for us and the islands in this season of Lent-- that we would learn much from the story of live-giving sacrifice.